Josephte McKay

Do I Have the right couple married here?

 Birth Alexis McKay, son Alexis McKay (1785-1939) and Marguerite Saulteaux (Chippewa); married Josephte Bercier, Metis, born January 6, 1818 Red River des Metis.

A HBC employee, Samuel Hearne gives great insight into the role that Aboriginal women had in the fur trade. Through his journals we see the various aspects that Aboriginal women helped European fur traders, and therefore the HBC Company succeed. Any success that HBC employees had while in Rupert’s Land was not solely their doing, but resulted from the help of local Aboriginal women. European men were typically used to a stereotypical view of women but Aboriginal women defied every stereotype.

The women were physically strong which proved valuable when HBC company employees travelled long distances. As Samuel Hearne said in his journal, women could haul as much as two men could and they could not travel very far without them. The Aboriginal women would carry supplies as well as large game that was hunted. They would carry the animal back to the camp where they would make the meat eatable and the fur or hide usable. This was very useful to HBC employees because it freed their time to do other tasks to benefit them economically. They were able to save a large sum of money by bringing the Aboriginal women with them on their journeys because they would have had to pay two employees to do the work that Aboriginal women did. A measure of success for any company is its profit, and the HBC profited more from having Aboriginal women with them.

The women were responsible for making and mending the clothing. The process of making leather clothing was long and strenuous but the Aboriginal women were able to make and mend clothing much faster than HBC employees. The most useful article of clothing they made was moccasins because without them the European traders would have had no footwear and they would not have been able to continue working. If they had to have ships bring shoes from Europe it would have taken much more time and more money. The Aboriginal women helped the HBC succeed by providing them with shoes that were ideal for the environmental region in a timely and cost effective manner.

Aboriginal women were companions for the HBC employees and were often married, sometimes formally and sometimes informally. These marriages came to be known as a la facon du pays, or after the custom of the country. The Aboriginal women later became known as country wives. These country wives had a large part in the fur trade. The women also were provided economic ties to the Aboriginal community. When an Aboriginal woman married a European man she brought her relationships with her. This brought potential clients and friends that could help the HBC employees. Because the Europeans had no ties in the communities, this natural alliance that came with marriage brought in much more revenue for the HBC.

Aboriginal women were also able to resolve many disputes between the Aboriginal communities and Europeans. Aboriginal women acted as mediators between two very different groups, their European husbands and their Aboriginal families. Aboriginal women were aware of traditions and customs that their new husbands were unfamiliar with which proved very valuable in resolving disputes. Had the women not been able to resolve disputes between HBC employees and Aboriginal communities, the HBC would have lost economic ties and potential revenue.

Aboriginal women brought success to the Hudson’s Bay Company. They provided labour, which saved the company money and freed their men up for other tasks. They made and mended clothing providing possibly the most important article of clothing at the time, moccasins. They provided the European employees with economic ties to the community that brought added revenue and they also provided information about Aboriginal traditions and customs that helped resolve disputes between the two groups. The Aboriginal women were an important part of the Hudson’s Bay Company.